UberBender Posted June 6, 2004 Share Posted June 6, 2004 I would so much rather ride a horse, or even a camal, hell even a guar. horses poop a lot and cars don't. i rather have a hole in the ozone than crap all over my streets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breton Thief Oriana Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 If you think about it, the horse crap makes a hole in the ozone too from all that methane gas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactoblasta Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 To stay off-topic for a little longer, methane from animals has become a major problem in Australia - it's our biggest source of air pollution barring none. Cars don't even come close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Switch Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 To scrap or not to scrap? Well, if they can come up with a half decent alternative to cars that's good for the environment then by all means. But I'm afraid in my book, so far they haven't. Buses are slow, uncomfortable, and by no means go everywhere. Not everyone is fit enough to cycle for miles on end or stuff like that either (I know I'm not). Trains are good but they don't go everywhere either. Not to mention they're constantly delayed. Cars are the only reliable, fast means of transport to get anywhere, and let's face it until they offer something just as reliable and fast but without the pollution not many people are going to be swayed... And of course also without the oil revenue just about every country's economy would be incredibly damaged. Personally I think that would be worth it to have a good environment but it would still not be a good thing, and is another factor for putting a lot of people off the idea I think... That's my 2 cents anyway :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThetaOrionis01 Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 IMO it isn't car ownership which is the real problem, but inappropriate car use, exacerbated by poor town planning and public transport infrastructure. I live in a suburb, and every morning there is traffic chaos around the schools in the area because a lot of children are driven to school. Perhaps in some cases there are reasons for it, but there are certainly instances I know of of children being driven about 300 yards from their home to the school gate. The school run for the main primary school in this suburb is causing traffic chaos every morning - you only need to look at the traffic density during the school holidays which is a fraction of normal weekday traffic. People don't seem to be prepared to walk 1/4 mile to the corner shop, or 1/2 mile to the bank - for instance, I've seen my neighbours jump into their cars to drive to the local convenience store (which is 5 minutes walk away) on many occasions. With the incidence of obesity and heart disease rising to worrying levels in this country, this complete refusal to walk anywhere seems just insane. Out of town shopping centres are usually designed to be approached by car only - pavements are often put in as an afterthought if at all. Everything seems to be designed for the convenience of the motorist, and discourages all other forms of transport. Roads and motorists in the UK also seem to be rather hostile to cyclists. A lot of road safety improvements and cycle lanes are poorly thought out and maintained - and frequently they're circuitous, stop before critical intersections etc. I know a few people who commute from this suburb into town by bike, and they all find that the journey by bike is much swifter than going by car - but also more hazardous. Minor accidents and near-misses involving incompetent motorists don't seem to be unusual. Public transport in this country is, as Switch said, unreliable, and inadequate. I'm lucky enough to be able to take a train to work - there's a station only 1 1/2 miles from my home, and being self-employed I'm lucky enough that it doesn't matter if I get to the office late in case of delays. Not everyone has that luxury though.The suburb I live in is constantly expanding away from existing infrastructure as more and more housing developments are springing up, and no improvement to public transport infrastructure is accompanying this expansion. If I lived 3 or 5 miles from the train station I'd probably drive to work too. And try taking public transport in the evenings.... not long ago I spent 3/4 hour at a particularly unlovely station because my train was first delayed, then more delayed, then cancelled. If I'd had the car that evening, it would have taken me about 20 minutes to drive home.... <_< Then there is the cost of public transport. Yes, having a car at all is expensive, but if you have to pay the overheads such as tax, maintenance, insurance anyway, then the only cost for each additional journey is fuel. And if you compare the price of fuel for a journey to the price of a train ticket.... it might cost you £9 in fuel for a journey of 100 miles return, but the comparable train ticket for a family of 4 would be around £33 (I'm using a journey to Edinburgh as my example - since I've been there a few times recently I know approximately the distance by car, and the price of the train ticket). It just doesn't make economic sense to spend vastly more on a journey which potentially might take you a lot longer, doesn't allow you the flexibility to detour etc. Unfortunately, until we see an improvement in infrastructure - improved & cheaper public transport, improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, fewer out of town shoppping experiences - and perhaps also a shift in attitude away from regarding cars as a status symbol, I can't see car use decreasing significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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